Having a beautiful home is the goal of most homeowners; however, keeping their family safe is generally more important. If you have a multi-story home, ensuring your stairs are safe should be an important focus. This is an especially important goal if you have younger children in the home or anyone with mobility concerns. Make sure you know what you can do to keep your family safe.
Keep The Area Clear
If a house rule is that you must take off your shoes before heading upstairs, make sure you have a place for everyone to store their shoes that is not at the base of the stairs. While it might seem minor, if the entire family is leaving their shoes near the stairs, this can create a serious obstruction, especially if the shoes start making their way onto the actual stairs. Either invest in a stairway storage system or designate another area in the house for storage.
Choose The Right Carpet Runner
If your stairs are slippery, you probably have considered the idea of purchasing a carpet runner. Carpet runners can be an excellent safety tool because they improve traction and in the event of a fall, they serve as a buffer. Just make sure you're choosing the right runner. Avoid those patterned options and choose a solid colored runner. Patterned runners create an optical illusion that can make it challenging to see each step separately, especially with busy patterns, which can increase the risk of a fall.
Use Durable Materials
Particularly when it comes to your railing system, make sure you are relying on durable materials. A younger child or someone with mobility issues might more often lean or place their weight on the railing. If it's not a durable material, this could result in serious injury should the railing collapse. One great option is stainless steel railing. Not only is this railing system easy to maintain and aesthetically appealing, but steel has a high tensile level of strength, even making it stronger than wood.
Illuminate The Space
The stairway is not the space for low lighting. Everyone needs to be able to clearly see the space so ensure it is well illuminated. If you have poor lighting in the space and don't mind the project, you could hire an electrician to install new ceiling or wall lights in the area. However, if you aren't prepared for this level of undertaking, you can simply have an electrician install light strips on each stair. Light strips illuminate the space, but are generally cheaper than the cost of new lights.
Make sure you are keeping stairway safety a priority in your home.
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